Late in the '90s, for example, Gerding/Edlen redeveloped an old industrial section of Portland, Ore. The green builder saved a 100-year-old brewery, used union labor and incorporated a lot of sustainable design -- recycled materials, natural lighting, photovoltaic panels and high efficiency envelopes and mechanical systems. Now they're working on projects that produce zero net carbon emissions (and union jobs).

Here's an employer a union member can love: Butch Johnson. He bought the bankrupt Flambeau River Papers mill in Park Falls, Wis., and rehired nearly all of the mill's 300 workers, honoring their union contract. Flambeau produces premium recycled paper and is building a biofuels plant to power the mill.

Or how about the company that grows the best tasting tomato (according to the American Culinary Institute)? Eurofresh grows tomatoes and cucumbers at a giant greenhouse complex in Arizona. It pays workers 65 percent more than non-union agricultural workers, along with health benefits that have no premium costs. The greenhouses are safer than open fields and the vegetables meet high standards of food safety.

United Streetcar is bring unionized streetcar manufacturing jobs back to the United States. Last year the company made the first U.S.-produced streetcar in 60 years for Portland, Ore. They honor union contracts and mostly use components made in the U.S.

Friday, August 27, 2010

"If it wasn’t for the people at CVS who felt so passionate about getting organized, I guarantee this never would have happened...It was a very emotional vote, with lots of tears of joy once it was over.

“I’m proud of everyone over there that stood up for what they deserved.”

States Press Workers on Health Care Wall Street Journal ...Kentucky, Connecticut and Texas... join a growing number of governments that have cut health benefits in recent years without major challenges.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

The source of that comment, sadly, is not just some wingnut off the street. It's former Wyoming Senator Alan Simpson, the co-chairman of President Obama's deficit commission. He has suggested the deficit commission will recommend cutting back Social Security to reduce the deficit.

CBS News reported that Simpson wrote the offensive comment in an e-mail to Ashley Carson, the executive director of the Older Women's League. Simpson wrote Carson that he spent many years trying to stabilize Social Security. However, he wrote,

"Yes, I've made some plenty smart cracks about people on Social Security who milk it to the last degree. You know 'em too. It's the same with any system in America. We've reached a point now where it's like a milk cow with 310 million tits!"

Dean Baker points out that Simpson is not only crude but clueless. Baker says

Simpson seemed surprised by what should have been old hat to anyone familiar with the policy debate on Social Security.

and

Simpson's public remarks also seem to show very little knowledge of the financial situation of the elderly or near elderly.

Baker notes Simpson doesn't realize that the baby-boomers nearing retirement have had most of their savings wiped out by the collpase of the housing bubble and the stock market.

And finally, Baker points out that Simpson doesn't seem to have a clue as to the type of work that most older people are doing.

While it is possible for senators to continue in their jobs late in life, nearly half of older workers have jobs that are either physically demanding or require they work in difficult conditions.

Here's what you need to know about Social Security: The shortfall is relatively small and far into the future.

Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders wrote a letter on Wednesday asking President Obama to fire Simpson from the commission.

“While there are honest differences of opinion as to how best to tackle this growing problem, we should all be in agreement that everyon working in this area – especially someone in as important a position as the co-chair of your National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform – has a responsibility to be as serious, deliberate, and sober as the challenges we face."

That's the question asked by Michael LeBerf, president of the Retail Wholesale and Department Store Union's Local 220, in Williamson, N.Y.

Local 220 workers are striking the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, which owns the Mott's factory that employs them. Though Dr. Pepper Snapple earned $555 million last year, management demanded wage cuts of $1.50 an hour, elimination of pensions for new employees, a 20 percent cut in their 401(k) plans and increased health insurance costs.

Michael Winship writes about the workers' plight in the Huffington Post. Ever since the family-owned Mott's was taken over by Dr. Pepper Snapple, he writes,

...the family spirit at the factory that once included an effective worker-management safety committee, Christmas parties, Easter hams and company picnics has been destroyed. Corporate greed, they say, has marched in with a vengeance.

The company's response to the strike: workers are overpaid and living beyond their means. CEO Larry Young, of course, saw his salary rise 113 percent over the last three years to $6.5 million

Big Unions to Pool Money for Fall Elections Wall Street Journal ...The AFL-CIO and SEIU plan to target elections in 26 states, all but five of which they consider battleground territory, including California, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Ohio.Our Blue-Collar Great Depression Wall Street Journal ...the current Great Recession for younger blue-collar workers feels more like a depression—with no end in sight.Let Congress Fix the Multi-Employer Pensions It Broke Wall Street Journal ... Your article attributes widespread underfunding to mismanagement and failure to negotiate adequate contributions; our research proved unequivocally that the market crash was to blame.As midterms loom, Democrats work to shore up faltering recovery Washington Post ...the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office affirmed that view of the stimulus package, estimating that it added as many as 3.3 million jobs to the economy during the second quarter of this year and may have prevented the nation from lapsing into recession.

Biden slams GOP's economic plan Politico "...For eight years before we arrived, Mr. Boehner and his party ran this economy and the middle class into the ground,” Biden said. “They took the $237 billion surplus they inherited from the Clinton Administration and left us with a $1.3 trillion deficit, and, in the process, quadrupled the national debt – all before we had turned on the lights in the West Wing.”

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

The peerless Dean Baker points out that the Korean trade deal doesn't free trade. Many trade barriers remain, and some -- like patent and copyright protections -- are increased. He writes

...the trade agenda of the United States had been about reducing barriers to trade in manufactured goods with the purpose of putting non-college educated workers in direct competition with much lower paid workers in other countries.

Baker has a better description of the Korea trade deal: "one-sided protectionism."

Give Labor Its Day (editorial) America ...Labor holds the key to the nation’s future global competitiveness, its standard of living and the health of its democracy.Teamsters: CCE workers to vote Oct. 7 Atlanta Journal-Constitution ...workers at Coca-Cola Enterprises facilities in College Park and Marietta will vote Oct. 7 on whether to be represented by the union.Coca-Cola Employees in Bremerton Go On Strike Kitsap Sun ...the company wants to cease contributions to retiree health-care coverage, increase employee insurance premiums 800 percent and close facilities in other parts of the state.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Employers Moving Slowly to Fill Jobs Wall Street Journal ...Even as jobs remain scarce, employers are being unusually slow to fill positions—a problematic trend at a time when 4.3% of the labor force has been out of work for more than six months.

Union Official To Leave Two Posts New York Times ...Anna Burger announced Wednesday that she was retiring from her positions as secretary-treasurer of the Service Employees International Union and chairwoman of Change to Win.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Fed Sees Recovery Slowing Wall Street Journal ...the policy-making Federal Open Market Committee said the recovery "has slowed in recent months," and that the "pace of economic recovery is likely to be more modest in the near term than had been anticipated."

California Unions Take Pay Protest to Movies New York Times ...The workers, scheduled by the governor to be on unpaid leave on Friday, say they will demonstrate outside theaters across the state showing the new action thriller “The Expendables,” which features a rare cameo by the actor turned governor.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

KKR Shelves Offering Wall Street Journal ...KKR & Co. said it dropped plans to raise $500 million in a stock offering, a setback for the firm as it begins life as a company publicly traded...

House moves to help teachers, public workers Associated Press ...House Democrats are convening an emergency session to pass a bill aimed at saving hundreds of thousands of teachers and other public workers from unemployment.

Friday, August 6, 2010

In case you haven't been paying attention to the noxious outpourings of wingnut media personalities, Media Matters does a great job documenting attacks on unions, starting with Glenn Beck.

Beck says unions have "raped" police and fire fighters. On the August 4 edition of his radio program, Glenn Beck said of unions: "Look what they've done to the police and firemen. They've raped these guys.

Gretchen Carlson says it's expensive to live in New York City because of unions:

On the August 5 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, co-host Gretchen Carlson asserted that the cost of living in New York City, California, and Honolulu is "so expensive" "because of union pensions; because of raising costs for other things; for raising taxes along the way for schools."

Rush Limbaugh says union leaders are communists:

On the March 4 edition of his radio program, Limbaugh said, "The union heads -- the leaders of these unions -- essentially are communists."

Here's what these people are: hand puppets for the super-wealthy capitalist elite.

Another Obama economic advisor steps down Los Angeles Times ...Romer...had called for a larger economic stimulus than the $787-billion package that Obama ultimately embraced.Jobless claims rise 19,000 to 479,000 Marketwatch ...the July average of 458,000 is consistent with a labor market under a significant amount of stress," economist Neil Dutta of Bank of America/Merrill Lynch wrote.Ford Receives Export Loan Guarantee Wall Street Journal ...Ford plans to invest $450 million to produce a new hybrid and plug-in hybrid at its Michigan Assembly Plant beginning in 2012, creating 1,000 jobs. In Chicago, the company is investing $400 million and adding 1,200 jobs amid plans to begin production of its fuel-efficient 2011 Ford Explorer later this year.

$16 Million Fine for Conn. Power Plant Associated Press ... The nation's top workplace safety agency imposed $16.6 million in fines Thursday against companies involved in a power plant blast that killed six workers and injured 50 others.

More Workers Face Pay Cuts, Not Furloughs New York Times ...Local and state governments, as well as some companies, are squeezing their employees to work the same amount for less money in cost-saving measures that are often described as a last-ditch effort to avoid layoffs.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Factory Growth Slows Around World Wall Street Journal ...Growth in manufacturing activity slowed in many of the world's major economies in July, underscoring concerns about the recovery's strength for the rest of this year.99 Weeks Later, Jobless Have Only Desperation New York Times ...In June, with long-term unemployment at record levels, about 1.4 million people were out of work for 99 weeks or more.The truth about PLAs Boston Globe PLAs ... have been used on large public projects as well as private buildings ... where owners seek a level of comfort regarding scheduling, training, workforce diversity, productivity, uninterrupted work progress, and known costs.UAW seeks easier union organizing among foreign automakers The Detroit News ... United Auto Workers President Bob King wants foreign automakers to sign written agreements, allowing workers to organize members.Sen. Casey introduces bill to guarantee direct care workers fair pay The Daily Review ... U.S. Sen. Bob Casey said he believes direct-care workers such as home-care aides and nursing assistants often do not get the pay and the respect they deserve for the work they do.